Tag Archives: monster

Attack on Titan: Giants in Mythology Around the World

Arkane Curiosities

When Hajime Isayama created Attack on Titan, he ushered us into a sprawling world of Titans, set on devouring all of mankind. Yet where did Hajime find inspiration for these walking behemoths and are there any other giants in mythology that can serve as models?

Hajime Isayama Loved Things Ugly

In a 2014 interview with the magazine Brutus, Isayama describes how he would doodle in his notebook during Junior High. “I was drawing ugly things exclusively.”

Originally, the Colossal Titan had a much different appearance. Isayama used a “30-Second Drawing” app and designed the giant with a stone body and covered in human teeth. Later, he felt the muscled figure would look cooler and switched it out. 

Drunken Humans Became the First Titans

Isayama worked part-time at an Internet cafe where he would observe the patrons. Many had a look of bewilderment, as if their life had no purpose. He brought these ideas into the idea of the Titans. 

One night, he encountered a drunk patron. Trying to communicate with this person became frustrating and pointless. Isayama was intrigued by “the lack of the ability to communicate even though the person was of the same species.” Thus the Titans were mute, bent on their desire to consume humans.

Cannibalistic Mona Lisa

The manga Jigoku Sensei Nube also inspired Isayama. This series followed a teacher, Nūbē, who used a technique called Demon’s Hand to counter supernatural threats. In issue 34, he took on a now familiar-looking cannibalistic Mona Lisa. The figure would come out of the painting and eat people whole, much like the Titans.

The Norse Jötnar Reveal the Founder, Ymir

In Norse mythology, a race of giants, called Jötnar, live in the land of Jötunheimar. The Jötnar were the enemies of the gods (much like the Titans are the enemies of humanity). Yet many Norse gods had children with these giants and the Jötnar are important to the end of the world, Ragnarök. 

Additionally, the primordial being in Norse mythology is Ymir, who existed before any of the gods. This huge frost giant spent all his time slurping from the teets of a massive cow, Audhumbla.

Three of the Norse gods hated the Jötnar and especially the greedy and noisy Ymir. They attacked the original frost giant, and finally defeated Ymir. The three gods tore apart the body, using Ymir’s flesh to create the world, his blood to make the ocean and his bones to build the mountains. Ymir’s hair became mighty forests and his brain transformed into the clouds in the sky.

The Gashadokuro, or Heaped Bones of the Angry Dead

Japan is filled with magical beings called Yokai and the most monstrous of them all is Gashadokuro — a giant skeleton that roams the night, eating people.

Legend has it that soldiers or victims of a plague who do not receive a proper burial are reborn as ghosts. They die with anger in their hearts and this energy binds hundreds of bones together into a gigantic skeletal monster.

Their teeth clatter (giving them their name) but they can also be silent. If they find a human out late and alone, the gashadokuro will creep up and catch the unwitting traveler. The skeleton crushes its victims in their hands or bites off their heads. 

Tim Kane

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Mimir: The Severed Head God of Wisdom

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The wisest god in the Norse pantheon is not Odin. No, he gets all his advice from Mimir, the severed head god of wisdom. With direct access to Yggdrasill, the World Tree, Mimir can draw on vast stores of knowledge. But how did he end up losing his head, or body?

Rival Pantheons

The Norse people had not one, but two pantheons of gods vying for control. On one side you had the straightforward, battle centered Aesir with Odin and Thor. On the other side were the more cunning and magic oriented Vanir with Freyr and Freya. 

When Freya visited the Aesir, they were taken by her use of seidr (a powerful magic). Enthralled, they soon threw aside kin loyalty and sought only selfish desires. The Aesir labeled Freya as “Gullveig” (“Gold-greed”) and tried to burn her to death three times, but she was reborn from the ashes. 

War Between the Gods

This led to war between the Aesir and the Vanir. The Aesir fought by the established rules of combat, using weapons and their strength to vanish enemies. The Vanir fought with magic, a more subtle form of combat. Eventually, both sides realized that they were too evenly matched. 

With the prospect of peace, it was customary for each side to send a tribute to the other, a god or goddess who would live among the foreign tribe of deities. Freya, Freyr and Njord were sent to live with the Aesir. Hoenir and Mimir took their place among the Vanir. 

The Vanir Feel Cheated

Each time Hoenir sat in a meeting (called a Thing) with the Vanir, he would lean back and ask the more wise Mimir for advice. But one day, Hoenir went alone to the Thing. Each time he was asked to weigh in on a decision, he shrugged and said “Let others decide.”

The Vanir realized they had been cheated in the exchange of hostages. They’d sent their finest gods to the Aesir, but only received the dim-witted and indecisive Hoenir. In retaliation, they chopped off Mimir’s head and sent it back to Asgard. Apparently you need to pull your weight at a Vanir meeting. 

Odin embalmed Mimi’s head with herbs to prevent rot. He also spoke charms over it, giving Mimir the power to speak again. Finally, Odin set Mimir at the foot of the Yggdrasil tree, next to a well. The well bore Mimir’s name, being known as the Mímisbrunnr.

Mimir the Keeper of Secrets

Mimir drank from the well and gained great knowledge and secrets. To accomplish this task, he used the drinking horn Gjallarhorn (which is the same one Heimdallr would blow to announce the coming of Ragnarök). How Mimir managed this drinking, given that he was only a head, the sources won’t divulge. 

Now Odin sets himself up as the frontman for being the wisest in the land. He doles out all the witty saying to the other Aesir, with Mimir feeding him advice and secrets from the wings. 

Odin spent countless hours wringing information from Mimir. You see, he valued Mimir’s knowledge as well as their intellectual discussions. But Ragnarök was coming soon and he needed to gather every scrap of information he could. Thus, Odin asked to drink from the well of Mímisbrunnr, himself.

This was a big ask. The well contained untapped knowledge of not only this world, but all the nine realms. As the keeper of Mímisbrunnr, Mimir wanted something in exchange. For the privilege of drinking, Odin sacrificed his right eye, which he tossed to the bottom of the well. 

After this point, not much is mentioned about Mimir. Did he still give Odin council, or was he forgotten, now that Odin had drunk from the mystical waters of Mímisbrunnr. Given that Odin appears in comics and movies and Mimir is all but forgotten, I think we can guess the answer.

Tim Kane

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Three Bizarre Christmas Traditions: Poop Logs, Christmas Spiders and Evil Goblins

Arkane Curiosities

At this point, Krampus has become a well known phenomenon. There’s even an American Dad episode about the mischievous bringer of discipline. Krampus is a downright celebrity these days. Here are three lesser known strange and bizarre Christmas traditions.

The Poop Log of Catalonia

Tió de Nadal translates from Catalan to “Christmas log” or simply “tree trunk.” The other name for this Xmas tradition is Caga Tió, or poop log. Yes that’s right. It’s a log that poops out presents on Christmas Day.

It works like this, starting on the Dia de la Immaculada Concepció (Feast of Immaculate Conception, December 8th) you “feed” the Caga Tió sweets and candy. Each evening, after dinner, kids would save a peel from an orange or other fruit and place it in a feeding bowl in front of the little log. Bits of cookies and other sweets work as well.

Each night, you drape a blanket over the body of Caga Tió to keep it warm. We don’t want our gift-giving log to freeze in a cold winter home. This continues until December 24th, and gradually the log will grow in size (or maybe it’s the parents switching out the log for larger one). 

Then comes the beating. You gather around your log and hit it with a stick to make sure it poops, all while singing a cute little song…

Caga tió, (Poop log)
tió de Nadal, (Log of Christmas)
no caguis arengades (Don’t poop salted herring)
que són massa salads (They are too salty)
caga turróns (Poop turróns)
que són més bons! (They are much better!)

Then, like magic, presents and candies (called turróns) appear under the blanket.

Ukrainian Christmas Spiders

In Ukraine, you will often see spiderwebs decorating the Christmas tree. This comes from an old legend about some rather helpful arachnids. 

There was once a widow who lived in a tiny house with her children. One day, a pine one took root outside their home and the children tended to the growing seedling in hopes of having a splendid Christmas tree. Yet as the year slipped into winter, the widow knew that they would not be able to afford decorations. Finally on Christmas Eve, they set up the tree in their house, but its branches were bare.

That night, while they slept, the spiders of the house heard the sobs from the disappointed children. They went to work on the tree, spinning delicate webs on every branch. 

The next morning, the youngest child opened a window and the first rays of sunlight sparkled against the new decorations. The light of Christmas Day transformed the webbing into silver and gold. From that day forward, the widow never wanted for anything. 

Ukrainians still decorate their trees with spiderwebs to bring good luck for the coming year. So maybe don’t shoo that spider away too quickly on Christmas Eve. After all, they also need a warm and cozy place on a winter night.

Mischievous Greek Goblins

The Kallikantzaroi are mischief-making goblins who live in the center of the Earth. They spend the year trying to saw down the Tree of Life, which holds up the world.

During the Twelve Days of Christmas, they dig their way to the surface to bring their naughty tricks to our houses. This is the time, starting at the Winter Solstice, where the sun does not shift in the sky.

Tiny black creatures with long tails, the Kallikantzaroi are mostly blind owing to their life underground. Afraid of the sunlight, they only emerge at night, feeding on any small critters, such as frogs, worms and snails.

They sneak into your house through any cracked window, down chimneys, or through keyholes. Once inside, the havoc begins. They are not evil, per se, but impish and idiotic.

There are up to twenty different types of Kallikantzaroi and each specialized in a different type of mayhem. Some urinate on your cooking or imbue food with horrific smells. Others mimic voices to tease, torment or steal. 

You can keep the Kallikantzaroi away by leaving a colander on your doorstep. These little imps will have to count all the holes, but they can only ever make it to two and then are forced to start over. You can also burn an old shoe — the foul smell will keep these pests away. 

A link to the Norse tradition of Yule comes with a method to keep these goblins out of your chimney. You simply burn a log, but keep it going for all twelve days. Once you’ve reached January 6th, you are safe and the Kallikantzaroi return to the center of the Earth.  

Tim Kane

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The Cailleach: A Celtic Goddess of Winter

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Just as the Greeks celebrate the change from winter to summer with Persephone arising from the underworld, the Celts had the twin goddesses of Brigid and Cailleach. While the bright Brigid ruled over the summer months, Cailleach was the goddess of winter — the dwindling of the light.

Winter Goddess

Cailleach was known as the Veiled One or the Queen of Winter and she determined the severity of the colder months. Samhain, or October 31st, marked the end of the Celtic year and the start of Cailleach’s reign. This lasted until Beltane, May 1st, when Brigid ushered in the summer months. Some believe there were two aspects of the same goddess. 

This might explain why she aged backward. Cailleach began Samhain as an ancient crone and gradually became younger as the months marched toward spring. Cailleach had total control over the frigid winter winds, being called Cailleach Bhéara in Scotland, the master of winds. She would determine if we received and early spring.

Collecting Firewood

On Imbolc, February 1st, Cailleach ran out of firewood. This forced her to journey out into the woods to collect more. In the Manx tradition, she transformed into a mighty bird, gathering branches in her beak. In Ireland and Scotland, she journeyed out on foot. 

This chore determined how severe the last months of winter would be. If Cailleach wanted winter to go on, she would make the day sunny and bright, allowing her to find more firewood and prolong the harsh winds of winter. However, if she overslept, the day remained gray and stormy, signaling that warmer weather was soon to come. 

This tradition has carried over into the United States as Groundhog Day. It shifted to February 2nd, but the ritual is very similar. A sunny day means that Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow and bring six more weeks of winter. If the day is overcast, then he won’t see his shadow and we get an early spring. 

Oldest of Them All

There is a legend of a wandering friar and his scribe who chanced upon an old woman’s house (spoiler, this would be our Cailleach). The friar wanted to know how old the woman was, but she had survived so many winters, she couldn’t quite recall. All she did know was that each year she killed an ox and cooked up a soup. Then she’d toss the bones into the attic. 

The friar sent his young scribe scrambling up the ladder to throw the bones down for a count. As the pile grew, the friar soon ran out of paper in which to record the years this old lady had lived. He called up to the scribe to see how many bones were left. The scribe replied that he’d not even cleared one corner of the attic. 

Another tale involved Fintan the Wise, who accompanied Noah’s granddaughter to visit Ireland. This was before the Great Flood and Fintan felt he was the first to set foot on the Emerald Isle. Instead, he discovered Cailleach living in a small hut. 

Fintan was known as the man of a hundred lives, having lived some 5500 years. Yet he surmised that Cailleach was even older than he. He asked her, “Are you the one who ate the apples in the beginning?”, wondering if she might be Eve. He received no answer. 

The Well of Youth and the Green Isle

Perhaps Cailleach (also known as Beria) lived so long because each spring, she drank from the Well of Youth. These magical waters bubble up from the Green Island.This island, visible as only a speck off in the west, was a magical land where the only season was summer. It drifted along with the tides of the Atlantic, appearing off the coasts of Ireland and Scotland. Beria always knew where to find the isle and visited each spring to renew her life. 

Tim Kane

The Cailleach: A Celtic Goddess Who Shaped the Land with an Apron Full of Rocks

Arkane Curiosities

The Cailleach was a Celtic goddess who traversed Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. She was responsible for the creation of islands and lakes. Seen as both a creator and destroyer, she was known as the “Veiled One.”

Cailleach means “old woman” or “hag” in Scottish and Gaelic. In fact, some scholars believe that this was a title given to any old woman. 

The Cailleach is often veiled, often depicted with a single eye. She has deathly pale skin with red teeth. Skulls adorned her clothing. Sometimes she was depicted as a giantess, leaping from mountain to mountain. The Manx believed she could shapeshift into a giant bird. 

The Shaper of the Land

As she leapt from mountain to mountain, she carried huge rocks bundled up in her apron. Dropping these could create new hills or even islands. She also managed several wells and could use these to flood the land. 

Her tools of creation and destruction included her hammer, with which she was able to control storms and thunder. In some legends, she also controlled a well that would occasionally overflow and flood the land.

Poet Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) included her in one of his compositions:

“Determined now her tomb to build,
Her ample skirt with stones she filled,
And dropped a heap on Carron-more;
Then stepped one thousand yards to Loar,
And dropped another goodly heap;
And then with one prodigious leap,
Gained carrion-beg; and on its height
Displayed the wonders of her might.”

Builder of Islands

One day, the Cailleach happened to be wading through the Northern Channel, between Scotland and Ireland. A French sailor maneuvered his ship between the giantess’s legs. The sail brushed her inner thigh and the sensation to this intimate area gave Cailleach a start. She dropped her load of rocks, forming the island of Ailsa Craig. (Source: Eleanor Hull in her article Legends and Traditions of the Cailleach Bheara or Old Woman (Hag) of Beare)

Hill Builder

In ancient times, many giants roamed the northern isles — the most famous being Gog-Magog and Cailleach-Mhore (Great Cailleach). Legends say that Cailleach-Mhore trudged over the hills, this time carrying massive rocks in a creel (a basket slung over her back). She halted to catch her breath and the creel ripped under the weight. Boulders tumbled onto the landscape, forming new hills. Many hills are known as the “spellings from the creel of the big old woman.”

The Cailleach (also known as Beria in Scotland) created the mountains to use as stepping stones across the land. They also provided houses for her many sons, called the Foawr, the stone throwing giants. These giant children always quarreled with each other. To punish any children who disobeyed her, Beria would close up their mountain houses so they could not leave.

Still angry with each other, her children would climb to the top of their mountain houses and toss boulders at each other. Many of these now lie on the steep slopes or scattered around the valleys of Scotland. 

Beria also used her magic hammer to shape the hills, splintering the rocks so that she could tell one hill from another. She would also strike the ground to form valleys.

Creator of Loch Ness

The Cailleach also had two wells that she managed. Each morning, she would uncap the wells to draw water and then shut them up at dusk. But the two wells were very far apart and she grew weary of trekking backing and forth each day.

She hired a maiden, named Nessa, to work the smaller well. One day, Nessa was late and found the water gushing out of the well. Frightened, she ran away, leaving the water flowing all night. 

Needless to say, Cailleach was displeased. She cursed the maid to forever run and never leave the water. Nessa was transformed into the river Ness, which flows into Loch Ness.

According to legend, once a year (on the anniversary of her transformation) Nessa emerges from the Loch and sings a sad song to the moon. Her voice is more melodious than any bird or the golden harps of the fairies. 

The Cailleach was also the goddess of winter, and we’ll explore that in the next post. 

Tim Kane

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